Key People

Director

Jason Smith

Deputy Director

Emma Fey

Chief Financial Officer

Lisa Lew

Assistant Director, Artistic Programs

Tansy Curtin

Head of Corporate Services

Rosie Davies

Head of Communications

Lindsay Ferris

Head of ICT

Thanh Vu

Head of Marketing

Jennifer Geddie

Head of Philanthropy & Development

Ashlyn Hannam

Collection Digitisation Manager

Josh Vanner

Development Manager

Emma Williams

Education Manager

Kylie Neagle

Exhibitions Manager

Jillian Jackson

Publications Manager

Antonietta Itropico

Chair
Sandy Verschoor

Sandy is an experienced Chair, Board Director and former Lord Mayor for the City of Adelaide, with extensive professional capability and significant executive leadership accomplishments in business, government and arts and culture. Sandy has developed and delivered some of the most significant cultural events for the State including the Adelaide Fringe, WOMADelaide and the Adelaide Festival. She applies qualities of integrity, authenticity, and a passion for progress to strategic governance efforts.

Prakash Rajah

Prakash is a Managing Director at The Blackstone Group, the world’s largest alternative asset manager. He focuses on private equity investments in the leisure & entertainment, technology and healthcare sectors. He was previously a Vice President at Brookfield Capital Partners across its Sydney and New York offices. Prior to that, he covered mergers and acquisitions advisory at Goldman Sachs. Prakash is also on the Board of Advance Global Australians, an organization committed to connecting, empowering and championing Australia's people, expertise and culture globally. He has been a long-standing patron of the arts.

Mark Roderick

Mark Roderick is the Executive Chairman of the Perks Group. Perks is one of Australia’s largest independently owned and badged accounting and wealth advisory firms, specialising in the provision of business and investment advice to private clients. He has played a pivotal role in growing the Perks Group from a small accounting firm to a mid-tier, multi-disciplined financial services business. Mark has extensive board experience and currently holds a number of board roles. He is a Non-Executive director for LEA Global, an international network of independent accounting and consulting firms, Chairman of The Lang Family Foundation and Chairman of the Board of Governors for The Helpmann Academy. Mark previously was Deputy Chair of Adelaide Festival Corporation Board. In addition to these formal board roles, he also sits on the advisory boards of a number of prominent South Australian Private Businesses.

Miriam Silva AM

Miriam Silva AM, has over 20 years of leadership experience across complex, regulated and multi-site organisations, including pharmaceuticals, banking, education and agriculture. Miriam has extensive board and committee experience, including Trustee for the William Buckland Foundation, Chair of Contemporary Arts Precincts, Director of MCCA and Malek Fahd Islamic School. Miriam is a Patron of the International Women’s Day Committee (SA) and is the Multicultural Patron of The South Australian Police Training Academy. In 2022, Miriam was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM). In 2012 Miriam was named one of Australia’s inaugural 100 Women of Influence in the Westpac and AFR Awards. Miriam is a member of the SA Women’s Honour Roll (2011), the Victorian Multicultural Honour Roll (2024) and the recipient of the 2012 Governor’s Multicultural Award for the Private Sector.

Adrian Tisato

Adrian Tisato is an experienced lawyer and board director, with specialised expertise in governance, risk, dispute resolution, innovation, technology and creativity. His board appointments have included the South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Fringe (Deputy Chairman), Motor Accident Commission, Independent Gambling Authority and The People’s Republic of Animation (Chairman). He has worked as a producer in film, music and visual arts and has an interest in a number of innovation and technology projects. Adrian supports artists through philanthropy and pro bono legal work, and believes that the role of the artist in society is more crucial than ever in a world increasingly dominated by software and artificial intelligence.

Michaela Webster

With a background in regional tourism and focus on customer and community experience, Michaela Webster is an experienced Non-Executive director. She is on the Board of Governors supporting emerging creatives at Helpmann Academy, a board member and Chair of the Foundation at Southern Cross Care (SA, NT, Vic) and a prior Tourism NT Commissioner. During her executive career Michaela volunteered at a range of not-for profit organisations that also inform her approach.

Cara Kirkwood

Cara Kirkwood (Mandandanji, Mithaka) is an arts consultant, creative producer and cultural strategist driven by First Nations excellence and principles. She is a fierce supporter of artists and a fearless advocate for institutional change.

Kirkwood represents and supports First Nations artists through her own independent arts company, Dissident Kin, established in 2025. She works directly with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Tagata Moana artists, bringing world leading creative practitioners together and facilitating their successes. She is currently Executive Producer of Deep Water Dream Space.

With strong networks nationally and internationally, Kirkwood has a deep understanding of genuine collaborative relationships at every level. She also has ample exposure to the many ways that institutions can fail. Awarded a Churchill fellowship in 2020 to explore colonial cultural institutions and their potential, Kirkwood has refined her vision and strategy for best practice. Guided by authentic dialogue and decolonial principles, she consults with institutions to review processes, improve practices, and establish genuine structures of accountability.

An experienced arts leader, Kirkwood’s professional roles include Head of First Nations Engagement and Strategy at the National Gallery of Australia, Head of Combined Arts at the Australia Council (now Creative Australia), Assistant Director of Indigenous Engagement and Strategy at Australian Parliament House, and Project Manager of Tarnanthi. She is currently on the Board of All The Queen’s Men and a Board member of the Art Gallery of South Australia.

Professor John Williams, AM FAAL FASSA

Professor Williams is the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic at Adelaide University, where he leads the institution’s academic strategy, curriculum transformation, and commitment to excellence in teaching and learning. John also holds the Dame Roma Mitchell Chair in Law at the Adelaide Law School. John and his wife are active supporters of AGSA.